If This Was Happiness Audiobook By Barbara Leaming cover art

If This Was Happiness

A Biography of Rita Hayworth

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If This Was Happiness

By: Barbara Leaming
Narrated by: Anna Fields
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Rita Hayworth was the epitome of 1940s glamour. A legendary "Love Goddess", she was a huge box-office star, and her sultry beauty and sensational figure made her into one of Hollywood's greatest sex-symbols: a pin-up so incendiary that GIs pasted it on to the first atom bomb ever detonated.

Yet behind the smoldering image lay a tragic secret that wrecked her private life. A pathologically shy child, she was thrust at an early age into a sordid limelight as her vaudevillian father's dancing partner, and suffered sexual and physical abuse at his hands. A desperate need for protection led her into five marriages, including nuptials with Orson Welles and Prince Aly Khan. All of them resulted in exploitation and disaster, as did affairs with some of the world's most glamorous men.

©1989 Barbara Leaming (P)1996 Blackstone Audio Inc. Entertainment & Celebrities Entertainment & Performing Arts Film & TV Celebrity Biography Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"Hayworth fans will learn much from this biography by the author of Orson Welles. The surprising story of the acutely shy Margarita Carmen Cansino, who was dubbed the 'Love Goddess', contains more melodrama than most romance novels." (Publishers Weekly)
Fascinating Biography • Detailed Hollywood Portrayal • Excellent Narration • Engrossing Storytelling • Beautiful Delivery
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Well told with a sad end that lots of families can relate to. I would recommend

Love the golden era stars

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Love it! Haven't read a bad Leaning book yet!
The narrator was perfect for this story.

Fabulous!

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A true definition of the meaning, "All that glitters is not gold!" Entertaining and informative about the so - called glamour days of Hollywood!

Exciting yet Sad

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much better than the usual hollywood biography.

In-depth study

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Loved it. The narrator did. good job, the author was very detailed and understanding to Rita's plight.She had a rough life and sadly didn't get better off screen.

incredible story

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. . . that is as much an engaging exploration of Hayworth's intriguing life as it is a case study of the lifelong and profound effects of childhood trauma. Irrevocably broken by that trauma, Hayworth spent a lifetime and multiple fortunes trying to repair the unrepairable and, in the process, lived a life so intensely self-centered that she unwittingly hurt all of those around her. Extremely well written, excellent narration, and definitely one to listen to twice because it's so packed with characters and events that you miss both content and import on the first go.

A tremendous tragedy . . .

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If you are looking for a happy-go-lucky story with a happy ending, this is not the book for you. It was a very interesting read, though. I liked how the author explained Rita's psychological reasons for doing things, due to things that had happened in her life.

Great read but very sad.

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This book as Rita life was very sad. It is sad that she never really found true love and even if she did could not believe it was. I found the book interesting and easy to listen to.

Sad story of a sad life.

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I found this biography well written. The facts of Rita Hayworth's life are public knowledge.
Her life is described with truth and compassion. I enjoyed it even though the outcome is inevitable.

Sad but true

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The book was good, but maybe so respectful that it got foggy in the places where I would want to know what happened. If she had Alzheimer’s for 30 years, a bit more about how those years went would be good. Her relationships with men were mentioned, but very little was said about their day to day life.

Rita

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